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Table of Contents

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Summary

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The Bhaiṣajyavastu, “The Chapter on Medicines,” is a part of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the corpus of monastic law of one of the most influential Buddhist schools in India. This chapter deals with monastic regulations about medicines. At the same time, it also includes various elements not restricted to such rules: stories of the Buddha and his disciples, a lengthy story of the Buddha’s journey for the purpose of quelling an epidemic and converting a nāga, a number of stories of the Buddha’s former lives narrated by the Buddha himself, and a series of verses recited by the Buddha and his disciples about their former lives. Thus, this chapter preserves not only interesting information about medical knowledge shared by ancient Indian Buddhist monastics but also an abundance of Buddhist narrative literature.

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Acknowledgements

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This text was translated by the Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team. Fumi Yao translated the Tibetan text into English and prepared the ancillary materials. Shayne Clarke proofread the translation and ancillary materials.

The translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.


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We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Leo Tong Chen and his family; Zhang Wei, Li Mo, Zhang Mo Tong and Zhang Mo Lin; (Chi Xian Ren) Mao Gui Rong and Chi Mei; and Joseph Tse 謝偉傑, Patricia Tse 鄒碧玲 and family, in dedication to all eczema sufferers. Their support has helped make the work on this translation possible.

Text Body

The Translation
From The Chapters on Monastic Discipline
The Chapter on Medicines
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Chapter Five

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Summary of Contents:227

I. The Axe229

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The Blessed One stayed in Kalmāṣadamya, a village of the people of Kuru. At that time the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, having known and seen that defilements had been exhausted, I said . . . .” (Here the Sūtra of the Parable of the Axe in the section on the aggregates in the Saṃyuktāgama is to be recited in detail).230

II. Devadṛśa231

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The Blessed One then arrived at Devadṛśa and there said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, in this Devadṛśa, in this very place, Suprabuddha Śākya232 was born and grew up.”

III. Lumbinī233

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The Blessed One went to Lumbinī and there said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, in this forest of Lumbinī, as soon as I was born, I took seven steps without support from anyone, looked in the four directions, and said, ‘This is my last birth.’

IV. Kapila234

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The Blessed One arrived in Kapilavastu and there said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, in this Kapilavastu, in this very place, King Śuddhodana was born and grew up.

V. Where There Is Cotton

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The Blessed One then arrived at a place called Where There Is Cotton. Thereupon the Blessed One said to the monks,235 “Monks, I will teach you about attendants who oppose the Dharma and those who follow it. [F.62.a] Listen well and keep this in mind; I shall teach it.

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“What is an attendant who is opposed to the Dharma? The attendant who proceeds because of desire, anger, delusion, and fear is called an attendant who is opposed to the Dharma.

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“What is an attendant who follows the Dharma? The attendant who does not proceed because of desire, anger, delusion, or fear is called an attendant who follows the Dharma.

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“Monks, I said to you, ‘I will teach you about attendants who oppose the Dharma and those who follow it.’ This is it.”

VI. Kanakamuni

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When he arrived at Koṇaka Village, the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, in this Koṇaka Village, the Perfectly Awakened One Kanakamuni was born. He was also completely emancipated in this very place.

VII. Kārṣaka

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When he arrived at Kārṣaka Village, the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, when I was a bodhisattva, having seen the work of my father Śuddhodana in this Kārṣaka Village, I entered the first dhyāna, which is similar to the state without defilement, in the shade of a Jambū tree.

VIII. A Robe

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Again, in a certain place, the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, a robe of the Perfectly Awakened One Kanakamuni was spread in this place.”

IX. Bath

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When he arrived at a village called Bath, the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, the Perfectly Awakened One Kanakamuni bathed in this Bath Village. Therefore the name of this place became ‘Village of Bath.’ ”

X. Sikatin

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The Blessed One arrived in Sikatin. In Sikatin … (The Sūtra of the Parable of Pole Climbing in the section of the path is abbreviated here).236